5 posts tagged “seasonal food”

November is traditionally a big month for game, but if that's not your bag then there's plenty of other stuff too.

Fruit: almonds, apples, cranberries, hazelnuts, medlars, pears, plums, quinces, walnuts. Imported brazil nuts, chestnuts, clementines, dates, pineapples, pomegranates, satsumas.

Vegetables: asian greens, broccoli, brussels sprouts and tops, cabbage (red and green), cardoons, celeriac, celery, chicory, Jerusalem artichoke, kale, kohlrabi, leeks, parsnips, pumpkins and squashes, rocket, salsify and scorzonera, seaweed, spinach, spring onions, swedes, turnips, wild mushrooms.

Fish and shellfish: brown hen crab, brown shrimp, cod, halibut, herring, lobster, mackerel, mussels, native and rock oysters, sea bass, sea bream, sole, sprats, squid, whiting.

Meat, poultry and game: goose, grouse, wild duck, partridge, pheasant, traditional varieties of pork, woodcock.

Cheeses: Ribblesdale. Saint-Nectaire, Vacherin Mont d’Or.

Having a week off has been brilliant! I've been able to do a bit more cooking than usual and have upped my fruit and veg intake as well to a socking nine a day. I'm zinging with healthiness. Zing! Of course, this may be in part due to the fact that I'm not being brought choccies and cakes several times a day as well - my colleagues are generous to a fault.

I see Lidl have ginormous celeriacs in stock for about a quid so I've got my eye on some grilled fish and a bucketful of celeriac mash over the weekend. And the soup du jour might have to be either wild mushroom or turnip, or even jerusalem artichoke (consequences be damned). Tonight I'm doing pan-roasted coley (I'm laying off the cod, but honestly you can't tell the difference) on a bed of leeks and green lentils. I've nicked the idea from a meal I had at Bluebird last year - it was an absolute cracker and shouldn't be too hard to recreate at home.

Enough of me blethering on, what are you going to cook?

Time is ticking on, but here are your lovely seasonal foods for October. Gruyere is in, so maybe it's time for a cheese fondue with tons of french bread and plenty of wine and beer. I'll be taking EDY out for a plate of seafood on payday too. Although payday is a very, very long time away.

Fruit: apples, blackberries, crab apples, damsons, elderberries, figs, hazelnuts, juniper berries, Kentish cobnuts, pears, plums, quinces, raspberries, sloes, sweet chestnuts, walnuts.

Vegetables: asian greens, autumn and red cabbage, broccoli, brussels sprouts and tops, cardoons, cauliflower at its peak, celeriac, celery, chicory, courgettes finishing, fennel, Jerusalem artichoke, kale, kohlrabi, last of the lettuce, leeks, peppers, marrow, mushrooms (ceps, chanterelles, oyster, field, etc), parsnips, pumpkins and squashes, radishes, rocket, salsify and scorzonera, spinach, spring onions, swedes, sweetcorn, turnips, watercress.

Fish and shellfish: brill, brown hen crab, brown shrimp, cod, Dover sole, eels, lobster, mackerel, mussels, native and rock oysters, prawns, scallops, sea bass, sprats, squid, spider crab, squid, turbot, wild salmon.

Meat, poultry and game: Autumn lamb, grouse, wild duck, partridge, pheasant, woodcock.

Cheeses: Caerphilly. Gruyere, Vacherin Mont d’Or.

 What are you fancying right now?

Some seasonal foods for July...

Fruit: bilberries, blueberries, cherries, currants (black, red and white), elderflowers, gooseberries, loganberries, raspberries, strawberries and wild strawberries. Imported apricots, figs, melons, nectarines, pinapples, watermelon.

Vegetables: aubergines, basil, baby turnips, broad beans, broccoli, celery, chanterelle mushrooms, chives, courgettes and courgette flowers, cucumbers, dill, fennel, fresh garlic, globe artichokes, green beans, horseradish, kohlrabi, lamb’s lettuce, lettuce, mint, new potatoes, parsley, peas, peppers, radishes, rocket, samphire, sorrel, spinach, spring onions, summer cabbage, summer squash, tomatoes, watercress.

Fish and shellfish: black bream, brown crab (hen), brown and rainbow trout, cuttlefish, early plaice, herring, lobster, mackerel (at its best), Mediterranean sardines, prawns, pike, pilchards, pollack, Scottish squid, sea bass, sea trout, shrimps, signal crayfish, spider crab, young salmon (grilse). (Best season for crab, lobster, prawns, shrimps).

Meat, poultry and game: (none of note)

Cheeses: Stinking Bishop, British goats’ cheese. Crottin de Chavignol, Saint Remy, Tomme Vaudoise, Valencay. Buffalo mozzarella.

I've been stuffing my face with fresh fruit and salads in a bid to be a little healthier. Really though, I'd like to be beside the seaside with a pint of cooked prawns, some wholemeal bread, some unsalted butter and a wedge of lemon.

Maybe I'll make a summer pudding and get the neighbours round.

What are you going to cook?

I have been neglecting my blog. Blame real life. Tsk. Without further ado, here are the (slightly late) seasonal foods for June. Enjoy.

Fruit: blackberries (early), cherries, elderflowers, gooseberries, raspberries, redcurrants, rhubarb (outdoor), strawberries, tayberries. Imported figs.

Vegetables: asparagus, baby carrots, broad beans, broccoli, chervil, chives, courgettes and flowers, cucumbers, fennel, globe artichokes, green beans, horseradish, lettuce, mangetout, new potatoes, peas, peppers, radishes, rocket and other salad leaves, samphire, spinach, sorrel, spring onions, tomatoes, watercress. Imported aubergines.

Fish and shellfish: black bream, brown and rainbow trout, brown shrimp, cuttlefish, first fresh kippers (run until Oct), grey mullet, haddock, hake, john dory, lobster, pollack, prawns, sardines, sea bass, sea trout, signal crayfish, spider crab, whitebait, wild salmon. Don't bother with oysters, mackerel, mussels, scallops and flatfish - they're all spawning. 

Meat, poultry and game: hogget lamb, Welsh lamb.

Cheeses: ewe’s milk cheeses, Stinking Bishop, British goats’ cheese, Farmhouse Cheddar. Bouille, Crottin de Chavignol, Saint Marcellin, Sancerre.

Later this month I may have to make a summer pudding, and perhaps some spicy crab cakes. Oh yum.

I've been slaving away over a hot writing desk this weekend, trying to research a definitive guide for seasonal foods in the UK. Every expert seems to have a different opinion, and it's hard to accurately predict exactly what produce will be coming into season as the weather fluctuates - some years things will be early, others they'll be late.

In addition, some produce is available all year round, but there are times when it's at its best, so often I've just mentioned that period. Vegetables you can get almost all year round include: old potatoes, onions, cauliflower, carrots, beetroot, shallots and chard. With fish, you can nearly always get mackerel and turbot.

Here's a rough guide to what's good in April.

Fruit: early strawberries, rhubarb, last apples and pears from store. Imported Alphonso mangoes towards the end of the month.

Vegetables: asian greens, cabbage (green), chervil, chicory, chives, cucumbers, early asparagus, early Jersey Royal potatoes, lettuce and other salad leaves, morel mushrooms, nettles, purple sprouting broccoli, radishes, sea kale, sorrel, spring greens, spring onions, watercress, wild garlic.

Fish and shellfish: brown crab, brown shrimp, cockles, john dory, langoustine, lobster, red mullet, pollack, prawns, native oysters, sea bass, sea trout, wild salmon.

Meat, poultry and game: Spring lamb, Welsh lamb.

Cheeses: early British fresh-flavoured goats cheese, ewe’s milk cheeses.

I'll be having some baby asparagus and some seafood, maybe shrimp and crab. And perhaps some char-grilled fish with mango and spring onion salsa, and Jersey Royals on the side. Yum.

What will you be cooking?